“Lost for Centuries: Ancient Roman Basilica Unearthed Beneath Modern London Office, Revealing Secrets of a Bygone Era!”
The Historic Discovery Of London’s Original Roman Basilica
Museum of London ArchaeologyLooking down at the remains of the 2,000-year-old Roman basilica, which was unearthed during an archaeological survey beneath an old office building.
The Roman basilica was found during an archaeological survey led by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). While examining an old office building at 85 Gracechurch Street — set to be demolished and replaced with a 32-story office tower — archaeologists were intrigued when they detected the remains of another structure beneath the building’s basement.
As they excavated the floor, the archaeologists came across the bones of an ancient building. Made of flint, brick, and limestone walls and foundations, it stretched three feet wide and 13 feet deep.
It was, they soon realized, the remains of a 2,000-year-old ancient Roman basilica, the very first to be constructed in London’s history.
Museum of London ArchaeologyBricks of the Roman basilica, which was constructed, in part, with limestone from Kent.
Specifically, the archaeologists had uncovered the remains of the basilica’s base, a two-story stone wall encircling an impressive building that was once almost as big as an Olympic-size swimming pool.
However, this discovery didn’t come as a complete surprise, as archaeologists had known roughly where the ancient basilica was located. According to Historic U.K. and the Washington Post, traces of the ancient structure have been found over the past century and a half. However, archaeologists weren’t sure how much of the building could have survived after 2,000 years.
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